“Meaningful Deathscapes: Worldview minority cemeteries in Finland” (MeDea) studies the multiple meanings that religious and non-religious worldview communities themselves give to their burial grounds. MeDea studies non-religious, Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic burial grounds. It utilises a collaborative approach in which academic and practical researchers from the studied communities co-produce knowledge, from the planning to the results phases. The novelty is to compare findings and identify similarities and differences between communities. The project collects oral (interviews) and visual (pictures and mind maps) data. Furthermore, the concept of “deathscape” is developed, creating minority-sensitive research methods. The study helps understandings of the diversity of Finnish society when the majority Lutheran Church has a monopoly on burial practices. In addition to academic publications, MeDea will produce a book for the wider public on minority burials in Finland.

2024

2028